Dandelion

Nine

Greyson could see the light drain out of Briar's eyes even in the dark. There were many answers he was expecting, but that wasn't one of them. This date was nothing but a disaster. She thought he didn't want to be there, but truth was he didn't know what the hell he was doing. The wind lightly blew through her hair as she let out a soft sigh. Greyson didn't say anything for a moment, what could he say? He watched her as she just seemed to unfocus her eyes off into the distance. There was a something unsettling about how she did it so easily.

"When?" He asked slowly.

"Four years ago, almost five," she said quietly as she picked at the grass.

"I tried to date two years ago, but one of three things always happened. One, they found out I was a single mother and immediately bolted. Two, they found out I was a widow, bolted. Or three, and my absolute favorite..." she stopped, and her face fell. She looked over at Greyson and then away and wiped away tears.

"This is not date talk," she remarked with a dark laugh.

"It's not the same, but I was engaged for a whole day, and she ended it," Greyson spoke up. What the hell was he doing? Briar looked at Greyson.

"What happened?"

"Well, after ruining my relationship with my mother, she realized I wasn't making her dreams happen fast enough. She started seeing someone else behind my back, and the day I proposed turned out to be the same day she planned on leaving me," he huffed a laugh. They remained quiet for a moment.

"What a bitch," Briar remarked with clear disgust. Greyson shrugged.

"I don't really care anymore," Greyson said as he looked at Briar who was mortified.

"I do. What a bitch. She could have left you before that, but chose to wait until you proposed? That's just...wrong," Briar shook her head.

"Jokes on her, I became famous not even a year later," Greyson shrugged.

"Good, because that was just... I don't get people like that," she said as she shook her head.

"You and me both, sweetheart," Greyson chuckled. They stayed quiet for a moment. Greyson couldn't believe he told someone he barely knew about his past.

"What's her name?"

"Riley May Alen," Greyson felt the words roll off his tongue as if it would be the last time, they would ever affect him.

"If I ever run into her, I'll trip her," Briar remarked proudly. Greyson chuckled.

"Nah, she'll never show her face around her again. That is if she knows what's good for her," he said and then laid back, feeling a little more relaxed. Briar watched him for a moment before laying back as well, their heads close together, looking up at the sky.

"Matthew Lee Davis," Briar said softly. Greyson turned his head slightly. She was looking up at the sky.

"That was his name. Eli's dad. We got pregnant at eighteen, I was still in school, but Eli wasn't born until that fall. Matt died when he was barely two," Briar said as a tear streamed down the side of her face.

"He was my best friend; he took care of us, he loved us. When he died, it felt like someone poured cement on my body. I couldn't breathe, I stopped eating for days, I didn't sleep. I couldn't function. My mom says I was like that for two weeks, but I don't remember. I just remember one morning hearing Eli crying for me, and I slowly woke up. I realized that I wasn't the only one that lost him. Eli lost his dad, and now it was up to me to give him the best life I could," Briar just kept staring at the stars as she spoke. Greyson watched her, feeling for the woman, though knowing he could never understand what she went through.